golden basketball boys
by jarofclay42
Summary: [AoKuro (mainly), series of AUs] Chapter2, Kingdom Hearts AU: Kagami is pretty sure this is gonna be the worst journey ever.
1. Game of Thrones

**The day Game of Thrones 3x01 came out, I was hit by this sudden wave of feels that made me open Word in a rush and write this thing on a whim. I still don't know where this came from. No spoilers from the second season, but if you haven't seen or read the series, I don't know how much you can get out of this jumble of casually put together words.**

**Betaed by Airway Static (sui on AO3)**

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**me nem nesa**

At first, his heart is weak. It bleeds and it hurts throughout all the years of loneliness and pent-up thirst for revenge marring its young life; it gets pulled and pushed and clawed by any hand greedy and nasty enough to try to reach for it, any enemy hungry for its oblivion and its pain – a king's pain, a _Dragonborn_'s pain. All those hands find little resistance inside him, working their fingers around the only obstruction that was built inside him long ago: a frail wall of brotherly love that's slowly withering away with the summer snapdragons that adorn the gardens of their factitious home, neglected in favor of dreams and promises which look a lot like dust in the mirage rising on the sandy horizon they see from their lacquered windows. And just when he thinks he's finally found the resolution to raise his chin high and challenge his destiny, his brother, his _everything_, it takes a single gaze from eyes as dark as the midnight sky in those Eastern lands to make his heart tremble again in fear and awe; one movement of those strong muscles that flex under the dark skin of a naked torso, one unreadable twitch of the corner of those drawn lips; a ruthless look from the most notorious Khal of all Dothraki, judging him as if he was mere flesh for the Khal to assess and eventually buy – no, not 'as if'. He _is_, he reminds himself: he's a Dragonborn and nevertheless he's been traded as a slave, because he needs them, his _brother_ needs them and when he lays his eyes on the Khal he can see, for a moment, what his brothers sees –the Seven Kingdoms _bowing_ to that barbaric horde and their leader, crying out the name of the _true_ King. He thinks, as he drinks in the halo of victory the man sports like a cloak around broad shoulders, that this may be worth it. But nonetheless, his knees wobble imperceptibly under the scrutiny of the warrior on the black horse, incarnation of the legend travelling around the Khalasars. There's nothing he can do by now, except for taking a deep breath, bracing himself for the future, resisting under another demanding gaze that he feels running along his skin – and this one is familiar and mismatched and maybe, at this point in their lives, even more unmerciful than the barbarian's.  
However, all the strength is lost on him as his heart threatens to shatter when they're left alone in the Khal's tent – he and a man who doesn't know how to say thank you, who killed one of his own men that day without batting an eye, who knows nothing except for violence and blood and victory. As the Khal rudely turns him on his stomach and takes him without a word – because it would be useless, there are no words that could sugarcoat the reality of it all and he wouldn't understand any of them anyway – and he feels an unwanted pleasure building up inside him, ripping his body apart and making him want to curl up and vomit his soul out, he wonders what he did to be there, in a land at the far end of the world, with a brother that sold him to an army of barbarians in order to go back home triumphant and proud. He asks himself what he wants more, his home or his throne, and if it's even possible to have one without the other. He wonders, while the Khal thrusts faster and harder into him and by his hips harshly drags him back against the groin with those large hands that seem unable to show kindness. And as he lies with gritted teeth on his hands and knees on the bed made of horse skin rugs and woolen cushions, it's only the sight of three dragon eggs placed on the ground before him that keeps him from screaming.

But as the moon traces its path across the endless starry sky over and over again, Tetsuya's heart gets stronger. It gets toughened by steel and fire and blood and now, when unwanted hands try to clench it, they get bitten, they get bloody and have to draw back in shame, thinking twice about wandering again into forbidden territory. Tetsuya now has aims, has principles that carve themselves deeper into his soul every day as he stands steadier on his two feet. His fair skin doesn't burn anymore from the friction of leather reins and saddle; his hand is firm as it is guided by Daiki's larger one in a swift, experimental movement of the arakh during their fighting lessons and he smiles back at Daiki when the latter shows his approval. When Daiki comes to their shared tent, finding him longingly contemplating his dragon eggs and distractedly fiddling with the brazier's flames, he sits behind him as he twines his fingers with Tetsuya's and slowly brings them away from the fire, because he doesn't understand. But then he hugs Tetsuya's chest with surprising kindness and, in that moment, Tetsuya feels content. He feels safe.  
Words aren't needed once again, not because Tetsuya wouldn't understand, but because they've always communicated best with their eyes and bodies. It isn't an unwelcome touch anymore, that of those hands that slide gently over his skin, tracing patterns known only to them, caressing every part of him with love and lust before he tightens his grip on Tetsuya's hips and raises him, pulling his back closer. When Daiki enters him, nipping at his neck and licking the side of his jaw, Tetsuya lets out a low moan of pleasure, feeling love and satisfaction growing inside him as he lets his nape fall against Daiki's shoulder, reaches back and tangles his fingers in Daiki's dark hair – and pretends that this is everything he's ever wanted.  
Finally, the day comes when he looks at his sun and stars with fiery eyes ablaze as they order him to eat the raw heart of a horse and in the middle of Vaes Dothrak, in a large tent crowded with expectant stares, he does just that – he brings the heart to his mouth and feeds on it; again and again he rips strands of flesh off with his teeth and gulps everything down, with only his will to stop him from throwing up. All the while he watches Daiki smirk at him from afar, propelling him to go on, his eyes so alive and shining with certainty in the flames of the torches that Tetsuya can't even doubt himself anymore – he can do this, he _will_ do this. And when he does, fighting with every fiber not to shake in disgust, Daiki's dark hands appear on him and latch onto his sides, thrusting Tetsuya up high in the air, above himself and above all else, like a treasure for everyone to admire – on his bare stomach, Daiki whispers, "_Yer chomoe anna_"; and it's with the sound of those words in his ears that Tetsuya looks around wide-eyed and doesn't see a king of savages; he doesn't see dreadful strangers, untrusting glares and disapproving faces. He only sees his light and his people. Blood of his blood.

When one day he asks his bloodriders why Daiki didn't choose a woman as his partner, if the Khalasar didn't need a Khaleesi to rule by his side, he finds himself knowing the answer before they give it to him. "A Khal don't need a Khaleesi, as a Khaleesi don't need a Khal. A Khal can do what he want as long as he has power and control. And what is strong, he wants, or destroy. It is known." So he watches their Khal tearing open the body of a man who dared insult Tetsuya's unwavering choice to spare their prisoners and challenge Daiki's role. When it's over, Daiki shows Tetsuya and the crowd the guy's head as proof of his unbeatable superiority and Tetsuya smiles mirthlessly in the realization that _Daiki_ is the source of his strength; that when he thinks he needs Daiki to go back home, he's not thinking only of his army of powerful warriors as Seijuuro always does; he's thinking of his eyes and his heart and his soul.  
"_You made me who I am now. I am strong because of you,_" Tetsuya indeed tells him in Dothraki when they are alone. He kisses Daiki's lips, lustful and reverent and, lying underneath him, Daiki looks up at him and smirks in amusement at his thoughtfulness. "_If that was true, I would have never taken you with me that day_," he replies, voice low and husky reverberating through Tetsuya's body and causing a lingering warmth to last under his skin. But Daiki is serious when his eyes drop closed in a soft sigh and he adds in a murmur, "_You looked like ice, but you were made of fire from the very start._"  
That night, it's Tetsuya who takes him for the first time. Without intending to, he ends up treating it like a sacred experience, because watching Daiki as he fists the sheets under them and groans Tetsuya's name like a mantra until he comes and can't speak anymore fills Tetsuya with a sense of completeness, with the understanding that he managed to bend someone whom he thought unbendable – that he's made a _breach_ in a wall that was thought to be unshakeable. But when the feeling wears off, a hole opens in Tetsuya's heart and he wakes up in the middle of the night, tight in Daiki's embrace and with Daiki's even breath ghosting over the top of his hair. He doesn't know what awoke him until he blinks the sleepiness away and sees the embers of the brazier beside his bed glowing red in the dark of the tent. He also sees the three dragon eggs lying peacefully on it and, before even realizing what he's doing, Tetsuya has followed an unspoken need, an arm already outstretched to touch the scaled texture of the eggs – and he feels no pain, no scorching hotness burning his fingers where they brush against the embers. His skin doesn't peel off as it should, his hand doesn't shrink away on instinct – it draws closer, instead, until the whole palm rests against the surface of the biggest egg. And what he feels then, pulsing warm against his skin, is life and hope and power and the call of victory.

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**also known as, the fic in which Akashi is there for a second and there he isn't anymore and I sincerely don't know where he went.**  
**bUT IN THIS UNIVERSE AOMINE DOES NOT DIE EVEN THOUGH HE'S THE KHAL OKAY? I DON'T CARE ABOUT CANON DEATH RATES**

**And I hate the fact that in everything I write Kuroko isn't really a badass. But. At least in this one YOU KNOW he will be. I mean, DRAGONS, RIGHT?**

**On a side note, Kuroko would probably be more fit as a child of The Neck lol. But I found out I have some difficulties with the sorting: I'd put all of them in more than one House. But generally, maybe,**  
**- Kise as a Tyrell**  
**- Akashi as a Lannister**  
**- Aomine as a Martell? Or a Baratheon, if not for the fact that I associate Baratheons with the idea of multiple kinds of behavior, and that would fit his personality changes LOL**  
**- Midorima as a… a Stark? I can actually see him going all 'Winter is coming' and everyone around him being 'SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY' **  
**- Murasakibara as… a… no-family boy who then became Hand of the King Akashi's protector known as the Mountain LOL? Who also bakes fabulous cakes in his free-from-threats time.**  
**Aaah I always forget Kagami. The last Targaryen? Possibly for the 'ka' in his name, and because he's miles away from all of them when the important shit comes down lol. And so, hi Kuroko Mormount /dies at the image**


	2. Kingdom Hearts

**Ah, I kinda transformed this already existent fic into a series of (basically all aokuro, explicit or implied) AUs? Because I have posted a good bunch of AUs I will post here too when finished correcting them, but they're so lame and short I felt bad posting them as single fics lol. So yeah, I'm gonna put this as 'Complete' but it's actually not. **

**This was my tiny birthday gift fic for SpiritWave and goes under the AU fics I hadn't planned to write but I burped and they kinda came out on their own.**

**Hope you enjoy C: Beated by Airways Static (sui on AO3)**

**_Summary: Kagami is quite sure this is gonna be the worst journey ever  
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**where the journey begins**

"Ninety-nine?" Kagami growls incredulously as he widens the distance between him and the people waving farewell behind them as fast as his legs would let him, "_Ninety-nine?_"

"You know, I really like this town, all things considered," Ogiwara chirps, still enthusiastically waving back at the newly-found acquaintances Kagami isn't as fond of. "We should come back once in a while."

"You say that about every fucking world we land on," Kagami retorts vehemently. "And no, we're never coming back."

"_Noooo_," his companion singsongs, stretching his already too broad grin far beyond acceptable measures. Not as if that's a new sight; in fact, it's daily routine for Ogiwara not to have a single care in the world – he almost never had, hardly ever would again – and that's one of the things that annoy Kagami the most on a deep, spiritual level, because they have yet to find the Queen, things are gonna be harder and harder from now on and the only degree Ogiwara has a major in is _smiling_. And he's pretty damn sure that when they will face the armies of darkness – because they _will_, given the gloomy outlook of this mess of a journey they plunged themselves into thanks to their Queen's will – that one skill of his is not gonna turn out to be useful _at all_.

"Why not? I want to come back here and buy more of these… um, what are they called again, _chu chu_ pops? Kagami, they're _delicious_, why didn't you try one—"

"See those faces?" Kagami harshly interrupts him, blindly pointing an aggressive thumb over his shoulder and hoping that this day is the day his assertiveness will finally breach Ogiwara's wall of carefree joviality. He's realistic enough not to hold his breath though. "Those are the faces of guys who expect us to find _ninety-nine_ stupid _dogs_, property of people we are not even acquainted with, which got scattered throughout the _whole _freaking_ universe_."

He scoffs some more, finding the action highly therapeutic as the stinging edginess tensing his shoulders flows out with every snort he lets out. "People are crazy buck-passers in this town. We are _not_ coming back."

But, "What do you mean?" Ogiwara asks, clueless, when he finally looks ahead again. "Aren't we gonna save those puppies?"

Kagami just grits his teeth and smiles menacingly at the remind of Ogiwara's other brilliant skill, which is managing to grate on his nerves with painstaking regularity. As he strides off regretting the entirety of his life choices, he ponders over dogs' unnecessary existence in almost every world he knows of and what the odds are for them disappearing from the universe forever with the advance of darkness.

"Rules of the Gummi Ship," he starts listing aloud, in a considerate attempt to restore the mental peace he'll be required to have on the ship, "no grumpy or sad faces on board. Only smiles." As he slows down in front of a fork and tries to recall the right direction, he wonders about the new boy's oddly unexpressive face. "You do know how to smile, right?"

"Am I even coming with you?" Kuroko asks with his flat tone that annoys the hell out of Kagami already, just as much as Ogiwara's goofiness does.

Kagami stops dead in his tracks and Kuroko promptly bumps into his back with an '_oof_' of surprise, the cold steel of his weapon lightly hitting Kagami's calf by accident before Kuroko stumbles a step away.

Whirling on his heels in a minor fit of panic – due to Kuroko's words as well as Kuroko bumping into him because '_What the hell_,' he screeches inwardly, why would someone walk so silently and so close to another's back, was the kid brought up as a _fucking_ _duckling_ – Kagami gathers the resolve to not let the only thing that has gone right up until then slip from his hands just because of one stupid kid and their complete lack of insight on the universe's matters.

He looks down, taking a cautious step away from Kuroko's disturbingly wide eyes and says, "Yes of course."

"But why."

"_Because_," Kagami massages his forehead, trying to rub the imminent migraine away by way of his fingertips, "you are the Keyblade Wielder. We already told you. And our Queen ordered us to fetch you."

"Fetch me," Kuroko deadpans.

"Fetch you," Kagami scowls.

"I am quite thrilled about our little duo becoming a trio, guys," Ogiwara beams, and Kagami has to wonder which planet Ogiwara's ability to read the mood went to live on.

Kuroko's hand lowers, weakly holding the half-empty wrapping of the _chu chu_ pop, the tiniest trickle of green liquid rolling down his lower lip and chin – and right then, he really looks like the fourteen years old he is: tiny, innocent and pretty much defenseless despite the shining Keyblade almost as big as him that fit awkwardly in his other hand; clueless about the tasks that suddenly came down weighing on his shoulders.

That is, until he wipes the smear off and opens his mouth to say, "But I can't."

Kagami almost lunges forward to strangle him.

"Of course you can!" Ogiwara laughs as he throws an arm around Kuroko's shoulders. "We're inviting you onto our ship! New adventures await us! Why would you not want to come?"

"Because I have to find my friends." Kuroko's gaze falls dejectedly on the cobblestones. The tip of the Keyblade scratches the ground, looking like a heavy burden that the boy's arms can't bear holding up any longer. For a frightening moment, Kagami's anger mellows out and lets the weirdest urge to pat Kuroko's head almost take the lead. Thankfully, he stops his hand in time. "Aomine and Momoi."

"But you're gonna find them, if you come with us," Kagami lies, clenching his fist to keep it still, and convinces himself there's nothing to feel guilty about as he keeps a steady look on the other's now vaguely hopeful face.

Kuroko doesn't seem convinced enough though. "I didn't really look for them _everywhere_ in this town."

While trying to think of a smart reply, he feels obliged to take abduction into consideration – he wonders if the Queen would be that displeased to know they actually dragged the Keyblade Wielder's unconscious body on their journey to her clearly against his will, instead of persuading him into following them. 'Bring him with you', in the end, is a very vague request that allows for free interpretations.

He grunts unmercifully. "They're not here, Kuroko, I thought that much was clear."

At his words, Kuroko's previously lax hold on the Keyblade's golden handle tightens visibly. Not knowing whether it was because of frustration or dictated by the sudden urge to smash it against Kagami's head, Kagami tries to play nicer, just in case.

"Listen, if your world got swallowed by the darkness, they must have ended up somewhere; very possibly, somewhere near this one world."

Ogiwara agrees with a kind, sincere nod. "He's right. Also, do you know that our hearts are always connected to our friends'? If we're gonna visit a world and they're in it, you will surely find each other. Let me ask you one thing, Kuroko." A finger flies up as Ogiwara smiles, and gently pokes Kuroko in the chest. "What is it that you want the most now?"

"A vanilla milkshake," Kuroko says.

"Be serious!" Kagami shrieks, his tone bordering on desperate.

Kuroko's mouth tightens into a firm line for a long moment before opening again, and this time the voice that comes out of it then sounds too feeble to Kagami's ears. "I... want to find Aomine, and Momoi. I have to know whether they're safe. I… I want them back, so that we can go exploring worlds together like we always dreamed of." His words slip toward an apprehensive hardness as he adds a bit louder, "I _need_ them back."

"And that's why you'll find them for sure," Ogiwara winks, apparently satisfied with the answer, and he goes ruffle Kuroko's hair like they're best buddies already. "And you won't even look for them alone. You have us."

So in the end it's Ogiwara's kindness that enters the cracks in Kuroko's wall of determination and feeds them with solid blocks of hope, and Kagami doesn't need to do anything but cross his arms and wait for those words to sink into Kuroko's spirit.

The Queen's letter ordering their departure had been ruthlessly clear about the people bound to undertake that mission of vital importance. And while no one had wondered the reasons why her choice had included Kagami, her request for Ogiwara's presence justified with a hastily handwritten '_Someone needed to counteract Taiga's universally renown hotheadedness and lack of foresight, both still unwavering after countless years of mostly respectable service_' had sounded plain idiotic at the time. Sure enough, no one had been surprised to see Kagami spending his last hours on his world begging Himuro in every language he knew to take Ogiwara's place, either.

Left to wonder whether the Queen had predicted that that 'degree in smiling' would have actually turned into a trump card, Kagami huffily stares at his two soon-to-be companions and grudgingly admits to himself that it _might_ not be a complete tragedy to have Ogiwara around, after all.

'_Yeah, but you better toughen up soon, kid,_' he still snorts, but keeps it to himself. He might be right, but good moods are fragile, precious things in these situations and it's not always better to crush them with harsh truths when someone put effort into building them; that much even he can understand. '_We have _worlds_ to save. It wouldn't be an easy task for anyone, but… it's gonna be really hard for someone like you_'.

But then Kuroko looks up again and there's surely some kind of magic at work when all of Kagami's doubts about how the Keyblade could choose someone like this freaky brat get wiped away by something he can't name but it's _there_, glinting anew in Kuroko's blue eyes like tiny ever-burning stars—and he wonders whether it's something related to being a Keyblade wielder, this odd, odorless strength that radiates from him, hidden and deep as the roots of oaks; if being one means having this… _light_ inside you that raises you up again after every fall—but one thing is clear to him then: there is more to Kuroko than meets the eye, enough to make him think that maybe there's not much that needs to be toughened up inside the boy.

"Okay," Kuroko says calmly. "I'll come with you."

"Oh thank _god_," Kagami sighs in relief.

Fist punching the air in triumph, Ogiwara yells loudly in glee. "_Maaan_ this journey is gonna be _awesome_, Kuroko, you have no idea what kind of worlds wait for you out there. And I feel like we're good buddies already! We are like, _chu chu_ buddies, huh? Kagami isn't though, since he refused it. He is a lone buddy."

Instead of smacking him in the head like Kagami would have promptly done if he weren't still gazing curiously at the intriguing kid, Kuroko actually _smiles_ a bit at that.

This is going to be the worst journey ever.

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**Kagami turns out to be right about the journey, btw. At the end of their journey, he pops an artery because of dumbass-dark!Aomine and his issues with Kuroko and he dies. Dogs carry on with their existence.**


End file.
